Juniata Hosts Pennsylvania Science Olympiad Finals

(Posted April 13, 2001)

Students from 70 high schools and middle schools in Pennsylvania will be building bridges, creating packages to protect an egg dropped from a great height and exploring the world of science at the 2001 Science Olympiad Finals to be held on the campus of Juniata College, April 27.

This will be the 10th year Juniata College has hosted the finals. "Our campus is centrally located, which makes it convenient for all the teams," says Ron Pauline, associate professor of education and Science Olympiad state tournament site director. "More importantly, it gives faculty, students and staff a chance to work with some of the best science students in the state."

The students will take part in a variety of science projects across campus at sites such as Brumbaugh Science Center, Knox Stadium, the Kennedy Sports and Recreation Center, Good Hall and the lawn behind Ellis College Center.

The 2001 Science Olympiad begins at 9 a.m. and continues throughout the day, ending with an awards ceremony at 4 p.m. in the sport's center's main gym. More than 1,000 students will compete. Four Juniata faculty members and two undergraduate science students will be supervising single events.

Teams attending the state finals at Juniata qualified by finishing first or second at one of six regional competitions held in March. Teams finishing first or second in the April 18 state finals will go on to compete in the 17th annual Science Olympiad National Tournament at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, May 21.

The Science Olympiad brings out the talents, resourcefulness and skills of the top young scientific minds in the state as teams create different science projects for competition in 23 events. The events, which can involve individuals or teams, allow students to think creatively while building an elaborate project.

For example, in the Scrambler competition, students will have to affix an egg to the front of a self-propelled vehicle and compete to see how close they can get to a wall with a single push of the vehicle. The egg, of course, cannot crack during the competition.

Other events include Mission Impossible, where students build Rube Goldberg-style devices to demonstrate scientific principles; a competition to built the lightest bridge that can hold the most weight; and Science Crime Busters, where students identify various substances in a simulated crime scene.